Don't you hate people who make you feel like a horrible human being? You know the ones, who are generally annoying but because they are "nice" and because you are "nice", you can't tell them to shut up and go away. But you secretly wish they would die a horrible death.... no...wait ... your feelings match that sentiment but you don't really wish harm upon anyone. And then later on you feel guilty for thinking such horrible thoughts when that person's only crime was stepping on your last nerve.
The latest of these is a co-worker of mine who has bravely battled cancer.....yes I said cancer. "Why how could you think mean things about someone?"... you might be thinking. Well first off this person has always had the bad conversational manners in the way that you can never leave a conversation once it has started. She talks a never ending run on sentence that never seems to end. She doesn't pick up on cues that you are trying to leave or end a conversation. Everytime you try to walk away she starts to talk again. It's kind of like a female Columbo. She will even follow you to continue her boring assault.
The worst part- the conversation always reverts back to her and all her troubles and turmoils (this was true even before the cancer). She has some sort of evil knack for twisting every topic (no matter how mundane) back into her sufferings. Now that she has been back for the last couple of months and is cancer free, I get the joy of never being to complain or talk about anything without her going into some ramble about all her horrible moments of fighting cancer. And no she is not doing it to show us how lucky we are or to put things in perspective. She did the same thing all of the time before the cancer. And yes she had all my sympathies during her illness and after her return, for awhile. But lately it's been getting really annoying. If she shows me her pick line one more time I'm going to lose it. There are those people who brag how great they are and how great their life is -- then there are those who have to "one up" you with all their miseries. I call it Scarlet O'Hara-itis --(insert southern accent here) "nobody has suffered how I have suffered". The thing is, I could think these mean thoughts before and not feel bad, but truthfully her sufferings are greater. That's the problem because the cancer has given validity to her ramblings and I can't say anything to her or risk showing everyone the horrible human being I apparently am. I guess if that's my only "suffering" then I'm doing pretty good.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Something old is new all over again....
I have an appreciation for old things that still work. Maybe because back in the day companies cared more about their long term reputations than making short term record profits. Things were made better - better quality materials and made in the USA. So every now and again when I want to buy a "new" item that I never had before I often look to see if the same product was produced 20-40 years ago. And then I look to buy it used on craigslist or ebay. You'd be surprised how some of the oldest versions go for as much as the newer used items or even brand new. Why? - quality in design and materials and longevity - plus a little nostalgia.
My newest purchase is an old Coleman 2 burner camp stove 316G. The green metal suitcase style that runs on white gas. I bought it for $20 on craigslist. Coleman has been the main (or only) producer of these style of stoves since the 1920's. Mine was made in the late 60's. Campers kind of talk about their vintage camping gear like old men talk about their classic cars. I can't wait to buy some fuel so I can see if this thing fires up right away or if it's going to need some tweeking after being stored in someone's garage rafters for 10-20 years.
You'll find plenty of blogs and discussion boards with people looking to date their "new" purchase or find replacement parts. That's the part that's my favorite - that there are people willing to fix and maintain these items. We live in a society that has the "in with the new- out with the old" mentality. I can't help get a little angry when people throw out something that still has plenty of life left in it simply because they want the newest and latest. Just take a trip to your local dump. (I always say dump and not landfill- landfill sounds too nice. The term dump is more literal) You'll be amazed how many things people throw out for no other reason than it's old. At least donate it to a local thrift store. Someone who will appreciate it's function and craftsmanship pick it up and put it to good use. Or better yet sell it on craigslist.
My newest purchase is an old Coleman 2 burner camp stove 316G. The green metal suitcase style that runs on white gas. I bought it for $20 on craigslist. Coleman has been the main (or only) producer of these style of stoves since the 1920's. Mine was made in the late 60's. Campers kind of talk about their vintage camping gear like old men talk about their classic cars. I can't wait to buy some fuel so I can see if this thing fires up right away or if it's going to need some tweeking after being stored in someone's garage rafters for 10-20 years.
You'll find plenty of blogs and discussion boards with people looking to date their "new" purchase or find replacement parts. That's the part that's my favorite - that there are people willing to fix and maintain these items. We live in a society that has the "in with the new- out with the old" mentality. I can't help get a little angry when people throw out something that still has plenty of life left in it simply because they want the newest and latest. Just take a trip to your local dump. (I always say dump and not landfill- landfill sounds too nice. The term dump is more literal) You'll be amazed how many things people throw out for no other reason than it's old. At least donate it to a local thrift store. Someone who will appreciate it's function and craftsmanship pick it up and put it to good use. Or better yet sell it on craigslist.
Friday, June 22, 2012
I know you're hungry --- but come on
I'm kind of a freshman foodie... I love all kinds of food and enjoy eating out. (Doesn't food always taste better when someone else makes it?) I enjoy everything from fancy foo foo fine dining to the roadside dives. I am not a food snob. I recently started doing reviews on urbanspoon and am bothered by people's reviews where they let one bad server ruin their experience and therefore give the restaurant a horrible review because of it.
For years I worked in restaurants (high school and college) and have worked in most positions -dishwasher, prep-cook, hostess, server, and bartender. I can tell you in most circumstances when you are seated and nobody comes to take your order (the biggest complaint) that it's usually a miscommunication between whoever seated you (the hostess or another server) and the server who is assigned to that section. I know that you would think that they would notice you but believe me when you're waiting tables all day- after awhile everybody starts to look the same and you don't even realize the people at the table previous to you have left yet. The other common mistake that happens is when the hostess seats too many people in the same section at the same time. That means the waitress has to pass out all the menus and give the specials at the same time, take drink orders, etc. The proper way to seat customers is to stagger them between sections so no one server is getting overloaded with customers at the same time. Sometimes this happens when too many customers request to sit in booths, near the window, etc. When I read complaints where someone waited for 10-15 minutes and no one came so they got up and left - I'm like- "how are they going to notice you left if they didn't notice you sitting there to begin with?" The best thing to do is grab the attention of any server or go up to the hostess stand and let them know. Every restaurant manager wants you to have a good experience, and if you politely let then know of the mishap they will likely make it up to you in some way.
Keep in mind too if it's a new restaurant, that there are a lot of growing pains and kinks to work out so by you letting them know, they can address these issues so they don't happen again.
The biggest mistake customers make is NOT waiting to be seated. The biggest complaint from servers - when people just walk in and sit at a table that hasn't been cleared yet. (especially when there are plenty of clean tables) UUggggh! That means you have to drop everything you are doing (ignoring your other customers) and clean off the table so the customers don't have to stare at half eaten grilled cheese. Worst case scenario - the server thinks you are the last people there and thinks you haven't left yet, therefore ignores you. Waiting to be seated will not delay you getting served.
Sometimes the server is just having a bad day at work. (Haven't we all had those?) Maybe they are short staffed, or she had to take something back and the cook was a jerk, maybe the last customer stiffed her on a tip. Just try to remember that we are all human and we can only do our best most of the time. I'm sure you are not the perfect worker 100% of the time and wouldn't want people to judge your employer when you are not at your best.
So let's give everybody a break here and try to salvage something good from something bad. I always give restaurants second chances when the first time wasn't good. Let them know while you are there so they can remedy the situation. And then maybe you won't have to let it ruin your time and go home bitch about it on social media websites.
For years I worked in restaurants (high school and college) and have worked in most positions -dishwasher, prep-cook, hostess, server, and bartender. I can tell you in most circumstances when you are seated and nobody comes to take your order (the biggest complaint) that it's usually a miscommunication between whoever seated you (the hostess or another server) and the server who is assigned to that section. I know that you would think that they would notice you but believe me when you're waiting tables all day- after awhile everybody starts to look the same and you don't even realize the people at the table previous to you have left yet. The other common mistake that happens is when the hostess seats too many people in the same section at the same time. That means the waitress has to pass out all the menus and give the specials at the same time, take drink orders, etc. The proper way to seat customers is to stagger them between sections so no one server is getting overloaded with customers at the same time. Sometimes this happens when too many customers request to sit in booths, near the window, etc. When I read complaints where someone waited for 10-15 minutes and no one came so they got up and left - I'm like- "how are they going to notice you left if they didn't notice you sitting there to begin with?" The best thing to do is grab the attention of any server or go up to the hostess stand and let them know. Every restaurant manager wants you to have a good experience, and if you politely let then know of the mishap they will likely make it up to you in some way.
Keep in mind too if it's a new restaurant, that there are a lot of growing pains and kinks to work out so by you letting them know, they can address these issues so they don't happen again.
The biggest mistake customers make is NOT waiting to be seated. The biggest complaint from servers - when people just walk in and sit at a table that hasn't been cleared yet. (especially when there are plenty of clean tables) UUggggh! That means you have to drop everything you are doing (ignoring your other customers) and clean off the table so the customers don't have to stare at half eaten grilled cheese. Worst case scenario - the server thinks you are the last people there and thinks you haven't left yet, therefore ignores you. Waiting to be seated will not delay you getting served.
Sometimes the server is just having a bad day at work. (Haven't we all had those?) Maybe they are short staffed, or she had to take something back and the cook was a jerk, maybe the last customer stiffed her on a tip. Just try to remember that we are all human and we can only do our best most of the time. I'm sure you are not the perfect worker 100% of the time and wouldn't want people to judge your employer when you are not at your best.
So let's give everybody a break here and try to salvage something good from something bad. I always give restaurants second chances when the first time wasn't good. Let them know while you are there so they can remedy the situation. And then maybe you won't have to let it ruin your time and go home bitch about it on social media websites.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Positive negative attitude
I'm usually a positive upbeat person. (or at least that's what I think most people see me as) But I also have a nagging critical bent to my personality as well. It's not that I see everything in a negative manner, but rather it's my hopeful nature that sees everything could be a little bit better. I'm not a perfectionist. Perfectionism is for those who have to fit everything into their little box of how they think everything should be. Maybe I'm an idealist - but even that has a stink of some elitist view of the world. OK maybe I'm a realist who knows things will never be perfect nor expects they will be, but hopes and constantly thinks about how we can make life in general a little better.
By better - I mean in experience rather than appearance. There is a huge difference between the two. Most people don't stop to think about how that simple distinction can affect almost every facet of their life. I believe life should be about seeking fulfillment. Fulfillment has been defined in many of ways, but when you break it down, it simply is about satisfaction (or happiness if you will), purpose, and experiences. Most people look to appearances to fulfill them- money, success, prestige, material possessions, etc. But at the end of the day it's the experiences you have on a daily basis (large and small) that give us a sense of connection - connection to the physical world around us and more importantly a connection to one another. The only thing better than a great experience is a shared great experience.
By better - I mean in experience rather than appearance. There is a huge difference between the two. Most people don't stop to think about how that simple distinction can affect almost every facet of their life. I believe life should be about seeking fulfillment. Fulfillment has been defined in many of ways, but when you break it down, it simply is about satisfaction (or happiness if you will), purpose, and experiences. Most people look to appearances to fulfill them- money, success, prestige, material possessions, etc. But at the end of the day it's the experiences you have on a daily basis (large and small) that give us a sense of connection - connection to the physical world around us and more importantly a connection to one another. The only thing better than a great experience is a shared great experience.
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